school funding

The Kansas Supreme Court’s school finance decision Thursday doesn’t give lawmakers much time to come up with a new funding formula. As Jim McLean of the Kansas News Service reports, a tight deadline isn’t the only problem they face.

It is not hyperbole to say the challenges that members of the 2017 Kansas Legislature face are among the most daunting in the state's history.

Kansas lawmakers have the tall order of writing a new school funding formula this year to replace temporary block grants. The work so far has been behind the scenes.

There have been school funding proposals introduced in the Kansas Legislature, but committees have yet to advance any plans.

Republican House Speaker Ron Ryckman says he wants something that’s sustainable and is predictable when it comes to costs for the state and funding for schools. Ryckman wants to have a plan in place by April, but that’s not a hard deadline.

A Kansas Senate committee has advanced a budget plan that would cut education spending significantly to help balance the budget for the current fiscal year, which ends in June. The state faces a budget shortfall of more than $300 million in the current year.

Republican Senate leaders say it's part of long-term plan to get the state budget on solid financial footing. Critics say it would mean major cuts to education with just months left in the fiscal year.